Serpent's Log
by Jonax Gale
Summary: A self-Insertion Fanfic. written in the log of the new straw hat pirate.
1. Log Entry 1 The Dawn

One Piece: Serpent's Logs

A Self-Insertion (SI) fanfic. A new crewmate will join the Straw Hat early on in their voyage; this is his account of the journey (based off the anime).

I've gone back and combined all the previous chapters; there are also some major changes.

**Log entry #1 "Beginnings"**

I have been meaning to write a log book of my journey at sea. I've never gotten around to it, but now seem like the perfect opportunity now that I have joined with….well; I'll get to that later. I'll start at the beginning…

I was floating…just floating in a world of white and nothingness…. I wondered how long I'd been there…when will I go back to the world I knew before….During my thoughts, a woman appeared before me.

She held a dangerous mischievous air about her that kept me on guard. "I am here to offer you a chance at new life filled with excitement" Her eyes grew more mischievous as she said this. "What say you?"

I was about to answer when a single name came into my head…

"Loki…"

I said it without thinking. She seemed taken aback and then she disappeared to be replaced by a man with the same mischievousness in his eyes as the women before.

"Good grief, how did know my real name?" He asked a little upset.

"I didn't, it just appeared in my head."

"Well, once you said my name I had to reveal my true self." Now he seemed almost bored. "Here's the deal, I'm going to put you in a new world for my own amusement, how about that?"

"Why" I said without thinking again. _I going to have to work on that_

"That red hair sorceress and that group in Nerima were getting old, and I thought 'why not bring a person from one world to another' you always do that in fanfics." He seemed a little more enthusiastic now…

"Where am I going?"

"A place with pirates, treasure and a rubber man with a straw hat." Some people would be freaking out right now but not me. I actually thought it might be cool to a member of the straw hat crew.

"Ok, sounds like fun" He obviously wasn't expecting this because he did the best impression of an anime face-fault I have ever seen, though It might have meant we were closer to that world at that point.

"Wow, I'd thought you'd a least try and resist. Where's the fun in that?" for a Norse god he's kind of whiny.

I thought this might be a good time to move things in my favor. "I have few suggestions, if you don't mind"

"Sure go ahead, I don't care anymore" Now he looked liked he would die of boredom. At least his mood swings are mild and he hasn't gotten angry.

"Of course I want to be part of the Straw Hat crew." He listened with only half interest. "I want to be non-human since chopper is the only other non-human on the ship. I think I'll be part of a tribe of people that are descendant from sea dragons. I also will have a rare ability to breathe blue fire that can't be put out by water."

I was beginning to wonder if he was listening at all but I kept my cool to keep things in my favor.

~*~ A few paragraphs later ~*~

"You got all that?" I asked a little irritated; it looked like he ignored me the entire time.

"Yeah, Yeah;

Sea dragon…

Blacksmith…

Espionage…"

"Alri-" I started to say when he interrupted me.

"But, you won't start right where you meet the straw hats" He now turned sinister. "I'll set you up with that tribe and we'll see how things go. I might even send some chaos early."

His voice faded as everything went dark…

When I awoke I was in a strange room and everything seemed big.

"Talon, time for breakfast!" that was a woman's voice and I instantly thought Mom. The memories must have been implanted in my head. I found I was younger maybe five years old. It was weird being five when I'm so used to being taller.

"Talon, did you hear me, I said it's time for breakfast"

I started thinking about my real mom and my real family. I wondered where they were, how they're doing and if they know I'm gone, but I realized that I couldn't remember them. Something within me broke, maybe it was because I was a kid again, I don't know but I started crying.

"What's wrong honey did you have a bad dream?" my "mother" came in to see me crying; she quickly pulled me into a hug and soothed my tears. For reasons unknown to me it helped to calm me down. "Don't worry, that dream is over." For a second I saw something inexplicable in her eyes. She carried me downstairs where an older girl of about 13 years was seated at the table. The strange thing was, parts of her skin were actually scales and they were all mismatched. I did say I wanted to be a sea dragon and that was probably some puberty thing.

'_Well, I have __**that **__to look forward to when I get older…'_ I thought to myself, _'I wonder if it itches.'_

"What wrong with him?" she asked. "It seems he had a bad dream." My mother replied. "Come on, eat something and you'll feel batter."

In a nearby mirror I finally saw what I now looked like. I had deep red hair, possibly like Shanks. My eyes were the most surprising, they were green but the iris was slitted, like a dragon's.

My mother placed me in a seat beside my sister and put a plate of food in front of me. There weren't many foods I liked in my old life, but this time I seemed to be able to eat almost any dish. I gulped it down so fast; I thought I might have been a match for Luffy. "Well, you seem to have an appetite, want seconds?" I nodded. "Okay coming right up… [Cough][Cough][Cough]."

"Mom, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, why don't you take your brother out."

The coughing fit slightly worried me but it was soon forgotten as we headed outside. This was a chance to explore my new home. One of the places that caught my interest was a small library. I wanted to learn as much as I could about my new home. I learned our island was located in the calm belt. The tribe didn't have much interest in interacting with other nations.

Our ancestors came here 800 years ago and named it Terra Draco because the island was shaped like a dragon. Legend says they were descendent from sea dragons. They called themselves sea dragoons, a name we inherited. We are able to breathe under water and swim faster than any human. We are also able to take on a human/dragon hybrid form. The true sea dragon form remains out of reach, however, and only a handful have ever experienced it, though none of them were able to call on it at will.

Once in a while rare powers would emerge in some individuals, my blue fire being one of those powers. Currently only one other person had a power, a man by the name of Blanton, whose power poisons water and allows him to control it. Some called him a genius for his strength and power.

I grew attached to my mother and my sister, Morra, but I felt uneasy. A year after I "woke up" Mother died from sickness. Her last words to me were "to protect my sister when the time came". I think she knew who I really was but I'll probably never know for sure. She left us two identical necklaces that she and dad, who died years before, once wore.

Half a year after her death, Blanton was banished for some crime I never found out. His abilities were sealed using an ancient method. However, his power was so strong it couldn't be completely suppressed.

I watched him as he was led to the boat he would take to the open seas, never to return. He vowed revenge, calling the village weak and cowardly. We met eyes for a moment…the chills sent down my spine racked my entire body. He would prove to be the bane of this village.

A few years past with just me and my sister Morra living together taking care of each other. After my eighth birthday a pirate ship landed on the island. They were fishmen led by Arlong. Our people had good relationship with the fishmen, one of the few groups we actually interacted with. The leaders welcomed the pirates provided they don't cause any trouble. The only one my sister and I talked with was the octopus fishman Hatchan or Hachi as most call him. He told us stories of famous pirates he's met, including the Pirate King's first mate, 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh. All in all, Hachi wasn't a bad guy, just kind of followed the crowd, so to speak. They fishmen stayed about a week before heading off toward the East Blue. Sis and I said goodbye to Hachi at the docks and watched their ship sail off.

2 years later, I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream filled with ships and fire. The dream felt so real that I was shaking all over.

Somehow I knew…danger was coming….I held my necklace in fright.

I slipped out of bed and headed to the village manor, there in a secret basement lay the Poneglyph and all the research the Elders had done on it. I had long ago discovered it and memorized how to get in and out without notice.

Anxiety filled me growing stronger with each passing moment. I ran in and grabbed a notebook containing a copy of the Poneglyph symbols, as well as a book containing our tribe's secrets. I then went back to the house and woke up my sister and managed to drag her to the harbor. "What is the matter, Talon? Why'd you drag me out of bed to docks?"

Day break was near and on the horizon I could see ships in the distance. "Look out there" I said. Sis saw them just as they opened fire.** BOOM BOOM BOOM** We ran for cave that connected to ocean on the other side of the island. Half way to the cave entrance, more cannon fire was heard and the town was set ablaze. We made it to the cave and ran inside just before a cannon ball stuck the rocks causing a cave-in.

There was no going back now and no way for anyone else to escape through here as well. The explosions outside still caused the cave and rocks to shake but no further cave-ins as we headed toward the underwater tunnel.

Although I wasn't the best swimmer in my class, I could beat any human and some ships. We swam through the tunnel and made it out to open ocean and to a small rock jutting out of the sea. We watched as the warships destroyed the village. I remember feeling disgusted with myself for running, I didn't do anything to save anyone. I at least was able to get my sister out. I continued to watch as the island become consumed in flames, with my enhanced hearing I could just barely hear the villagers' screams. Sis probably heard them as well.

"It'll be alright" she said as she wrapped her arms around me. "We're alive, but we need to keep moving."

I was scared and ashamed. I vowed never to run like this again. I gripped the necklace on my neck, knowing that I had at least kept my promise and saved my sister.

I woke up to find myself on a bed in someone's house. I looked over to a dresser where a tray of food was prepared. The smell of food was probably what woke me up in the first place. I quickly ate everything on the tray. But how did I get there?

I slowly recounted the events from when I left the village.

We swam through the calm belt where the island was. I don't know how we managed to get by all the sea kings but I remembered making it to a normal sea. I had no idea if it was the East Blue, West Blue, North, South or even the Grand Line. I was so exhausted, I was barely even aware I was approaching an island. I don't even remember making it to shore.

As I continued to collect my thoughts an older man came in with another tray of food

"Oh, so ya awake. I'm glad" He wasn't too old; he looked like he could handle heavy work if he needed to. "Ya probably wondering where ya are and how ya got here." I nodded an affirmative; then my stomach decided itself known.

"Ha-ha…Well, I'll tell while ya eat; ya sister said you needed more than what was on the first tray." He handed me the tray and began to explain things. "Here, your sister made it. She's a better cook than I am. She's down stairs by the way."

"For starters, my name is Kando. I was taking an evening walk on the beach, not my usually routine, but ya probably not complaining. Well, as I was walking I found the two of ya washed up on the shore; as soon as I made sure ya were alive I brought ya back to my house."

"And where am I exactly?" I asked

"This here is Kajiya island, best little island in the East Blue. Ya know why?" I shook my head. "Because I'm here that's why, ha-ha-ha"

'_Oh great, I just couldn't be saved by more modest person' _Even though I thought that, I eventually grew to respect him, maybe even admire him a little….just a little.

"Thank you for saving me and for giving me food, is there any way I can repay you?" I felt I needed to do something for his help.

"It was my choice to help ya, I didn't do it just 'cause I wanted ya to do something for me, I'm just that good of a man" (rolls eyes)

"Please, anything"

"Well, I was about to take some stuff down to port to sell, ya could give me a hand taking em there" I eagerly agreed. I finished up the food he brought and headed down stairs. I found Sis in the kitchen. "Oh, you're awake, thank goodness, I was worried." She hugged me hard, nearly choking me.

"I'm fine, now stop choking me!" After she settled down, I told I was going to help the old man who saved us. She agreed and said we should try and repay him for his kindness.

It turned out he was a blacksmith and crafted a wide variety of items. He had just finished an order of a few dozen swords to be delivered to some marines docked in town. I wasn't eager to see marines, in fact I was almost afraid but I promised myself I wouldn't be a coward.

He led me to his workshop and picked up a several long boxes which I assumed held the swords. I helped him pick up most of them leaving one box for me. For a normal ten year old, picking up a box of heavy swords would be impossible. Lucky I wasn't normal, though its size did give me a little trouble, you know with getting a good grip.

He house was on the outskirts of town up in the foot hills. We walked all the way to town with our load.

"Ya pretty strong for a kid, I wonder how ya got wrecked in the first place" I was silent "Any family ya can go to?" I didn't want to talk about it; partly because it was still a fresh "wound" so to say, but also because I didn't want him see me as a monster because I was a dragon. "Fine, I get it, I won't ask, I'm just that good of a man" something told me I'd be rolling my eyes a lot in the near future.

We reached the port and stood before a marine ship. It wasn't a warship like the one that destroyed my home, but I was still pretty nervous.

A marine walked up and addressed old man Kando. "Are these the swords we commissioned?"

"Yep, the finest blades ya'll find in the entire East Blue. Ha-ha" I had begun to sweat when the marine came up, but then…

"Who's this young lad with you?" I really began to sweat. I could feel his eyes scrutinized me. Old Man Kando must have noticed that so he interjected.

"He's my new apprentice, been hounding me for a while to take him on."

"Very well, I have your payment ready." He had some other marines take the boxes and then gave Old Man Kando the berries he owed him. We walked off and went to a local bar. Old Man Kando bought me some juice, said it would calm my nerves. After all the time I spent with him he never did ask why I was afraid of the marines.

He made his earlier statement true and made me his apprentice, for the next eight years he drilled the skill of a blacksmith into me.

"Hey why do I have to do this work, old man?"

"If ya want to be a blacksmith ya have ta start at the bottom!"

"I never said I wanted to be your apprentice, old man, you decided that yourself!"

"Ya cheeky brat, I'm giving ya food and shelter, the least ya could do is work for me!"

I did make a lot of mistakes though…

"You brat, ya went and ruined it"

"Hey, I'm still learning, so shut your yap"

"Quit your whining, make it again and this time get it right!"

Yeah, once we got over the awkwardness, we had a lot of fights…

"Hey, quit stealing off my plate, old man!"

"All this food is mine to begin with, ya should be grateful for what ya got!" (Visualize them fighting with forks over food)

Old Man Kando was also a swordsman and put me through rigorous training. He wielded a large zanbato, as long as him and almost as wide.

~+~ "Give me five hundred more swings" ~+~ "Get back up and come at me again!" ~+~ "Don't lose your grip on your sword!" ~+~

What he put me through…..still gives me nightmares….

In my spare time, I obtained what information I could get on the East Blue, the Grand Line, the Pone Glyphs and various other things. I wanted to be prepared for when I set out on my own. I learned to be discrete when gathering info and was careful to make sure it was legitimate. The tales from the Grand Line were especially hard to believe, but I kept a coded record of them and of the other stuff I found.

I found out about how the marines found the island and knew of the village's Poneglyph. The outcast, the one villager who was banished, had somehow broken the seal on his powers and went the marines and revealed everything. Apparently the marines took that as an act of war and feared we were going awaken an ancient weapon. The outcast has since become a marine vice-admiral and last I heard was in the Grand Line. He became known as the Blanton of the "Black Sea". Info on him was difficult to find. The World Government later released the story of the Marines victory over the 'monsters' of Terra Draco in the newspaper.

Turned out the old man had connections. To say I was shocked when Hawkeye Mihawk landed on our doorstep was an understatement. My jaw literally hit the floor as he greeted the warlord and directed him to the shop. I was eleven at the time and had just made my first real sword. After the initial shock I decided to challenge him to a spar. It was an embarrassment.

"Hawkeye let me spar with you!"

"Who is this boy?" he turned to look at me. I faltered a bit at his stare but recovered reasoning that hawk eye can't beat a dragon eye.

"Who, the brat? Just some kid I took in to teach the art of sword making, though he's a bit of a slow learner."

"I want to test my skills as a sword smith and a swordsman with this sword I made!"

He continued to stare as if to gauge my determination. "Very well, Kando bring me a spoon" I knew he wouldn't use the black sword on his back, heck, I half-expected him to use a butter knife, but a SPOON? Well, I guess you can tell how this ended; I was flat on my back in three seconds.

"Hmph…improve and next time I might use a butter knife." …I hated him. He came back several times over the next six years to have his swords repaired; apparently the old man's skills were the only ones he trusted.

When I turned seventeen, I completed my training as blacksmith and as a swordsman. I crafted my own sword using my azure fire breath. It was a large zanbato as long as myself with several small holes designed to reduce resistance underwater. My azure flame somehow turned the blade to an ocean blue. I named it **Buruse.**

The old man had figured out I was a dragon long ago but wasn't bothered by it. He was "just that good of a man". Though that scale thing my sister had before might have unnerved him a little when I got it. I had to wear bandages for months while visiting town.

Speaking of my sister, she got a job as a waitress at the local tavern. She was very popular with her looks, though they learned early on not to touch as she could snap their arms with her dragon strength. They especially behaved when I was around or else certain incidents could happen.

Anyway, the old man gave me a boat with a furnace in it and sent me off to make my own way in the world. I traveled the East Blue for a year making not just weapons but kitchen ware, working tools, even furniture. Then I met her….

It was just after I had turned eighteen, having been traveling the East Blue for a year. I was out at sea when I noticed a nearby ship. It was a luxury ship which was sailing past a whirlpool. It suddenly clicked in my mind which ship that was. I ran alongside it and talked to the sailors who had already spotted me. I requested to speak with the captain who came out shortly.

"Good day sir, I am a traveling blacksmith, might I entice you to buy some of my fine silverware." He mulled it over and decided to let me on board so he could look at my merchandise. "These are top quality, the same used by high-ranking marines and nobles, all for a fair price."

"Yes, these are spectacular. I was going to purchase new dinnerware at the next port, but the quality at these prices is hard to come by." We settled on a price and he had one sailor take purchased item to storage for now.

"You seem to have quite the party, might I join?" He looked me over, probably put off by my seafaring clothes. "I do have a proper outfit for the occasion." I had been a quick success in business so I could afford fancy clothes for times like this.

"Very well, please change and I'll escort you to dining hall." I quickly complied and headed to where the great navigator/thief was currently located. I instantly spotted her by her orange hair. She was staring out the window at a large rock formation jutting out of the sea. She wore a simple light cream colored dress with red rings and some frills. I held my necklace for good luck as I walked toward her.

"Excuse me, would the pretty lady care to dance?" she thought it over and complied. As we were dancing I talked in a low voice so only she could hear me. "So, what's a thief like you doing in a high-class party like this?" her eyes grew large in surprise.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I happened to run into a few of your previous acquaintances, not many girls on the sea with short orange hair. So what are you after, this ship's loot?" she was hesitant but told me of her plans.

"There's a pirate ship nearby ready to attack, led by a woman named Alvida, during the confusion I'll slip on to their ship and steal their treasure and anything they get off this ship. If you help me out I'll give you a cut of the spoils." She put on a flirty smile which was attractive but I kept head straight.

"Alright, I'll help you out." She gave a victorious smile. "I'll take ten percent, excluding anything that was already mine to begin with." She had an even bigger, though slightly surprised, smile. I guess she expected me to ask for a bigger cut. Right then an explosion was heard and the ship jerked suddenly. People screamed and panicked while running for cover. "I guess that's our cue, name's Talon by the way." "I'm Nami, let's go."

We headed out to an empty hallway where Nami threw off her dress to reveal the casual clothes underneath alongside the bandana that seemed to magically appear on her head. I wondered how she did that without ripping the dress, but guessed it was part of the laws of this world. I, too, threw off my suit to reveal shorts and a t-shirt with a pouch full of kunai strapped to my waist. Although I'm a sword user I like to have some extra insurance hidden away.

"You seem to have come prepared." Nami eyed me suspiciously. I shrugged, "Anything can happen out at sea, I just prefer not to get caught unawares."

We headed up on deck and slipped onto the pirate ship, Nami by zip line, me by tightrope running. We only encountered one pirate who I instantly knocked out so Nami wouldn't kick him where it hurts, as a fellow man I didn't want to inflict that on him. While the pirates threw the loot into the hold we gathered it up to take to my boat since Nami said stealing one was too risky when we already had mine.

I heard a lot of commotion outside with my enhanced hearing and knew Luffy was the cause. The marines showed up and opened fire on the pirate ship, though thankfully we had already loaded up the treasure. As we were about to make our getaway another boat dropped beside us carrying Luffy and Coby.

We eventually got away and Nami directed me toward our next destination, a marine base.


	2. Log Entry 2 Straw Hat and Three Swords

One Piece: Serpent's Logs

A Self-Insertion (SI) fanfic. A new crewmate will join the Straw Hat early on in their voyage; this is his account of the journey (based off the anime).

**Log entry #2 "Straw Hat and Three Swords"**

With Nami's excellent navigation skills we made it to the marine base in good time.

"You're a pretty good navigator, Nami." I complimented her as we step onto the docks.

"Of course, my skills are the best around, no one can match me." She certainly took great pride in that fact. I decided to treat her to a meal. (Yes, I know, let's all sweat-drop at the sudden change in subject)

"Want to get something to eat, my treat." Of course she wouldn't turn down a free meal, so we went to a restaurant and ordered some food. "So are you planning on stealing from the marines? I hear the guy in charge is pretty ruthless, a guy named Captain Morgan…" WHAM, all the other customers suddenly leapt to the walls away from us like we had the plague, though I think they only heard the captain's name. I sweat-dropped, "You still want to go?" I asked as the people settled down.

"There something in there I have to get…if I'm going to realize my dream," the last part she said in an even lower whisper, though I still heard it.

"Well, pirates was one thing, marines are another. I already got my ten percent so I guess this goodbye for now." She was probably going to try to steal everything and leave me high and dry, so I thought it better to leave for now. Plus, I thought it be better to help out Luffy and Zoro. "I'm sure you'll be fine without my help. I hope we meet again."

"It's a shame, but maybe we can work together again someday." I paid for the meal and walked out. As I was heading out, I happened to pass Luffy and Coby who were heading in. I decided to head to the execution grounds to see Zoro.

He was tied up like I knew he was, in his green sash and black bandana. It must have been painful to stay out here in the hot sun and cold night without food for days. I leapt over the walls and approached him. He instantly knew I was there and mumbled something, which I heard.

"What, is it visiting day or something?" He then spoke toward me, "Do you also have a death wish; they call me a demon you know."

"Do you consider yourself a demon? You look human enough, anyway."

"Just get out of here; I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm." I heard a commotion headed this way, which was probably Helmeppo.

"Fine if you're going to be so rude, I'll leave for now." I ran to wall to jump over it but before that…"hey pirate hunter, today is an interesting day." I left him with a confused look and jumped into a nearby tree with the perfect vantage point to watch everything unfold. I saw Helmeppo head inside the base sporting a bruise on his cheek. A few minutes later Luffy came and stood right in front of Zoro.

"You again, don't you have things to do."

"I'll untie you, but only if you promise to join my crew?"

"Your what?"

"I run a pirate crew and I'm looking for people to join up." Well, this conversation is very canon, how boring.

"No way, I'd never stoop to joining up with a criminal, screw that business."

"What's wrong with being a pirate?"

_**Now it's Zoro's turn**_ "they're despicable like I would ever want to join up with one."

_**Now Luffy's**_ "Oh come, gimme a break, everyone already knows you're vicious bounty hunter always out for blood."

_**Man when's my turn gonna come**_"They can say what they want about me but I've never done a single thing in my life that I regret, I will make it through this challenge and after that I'll accomplish what I want." I'll say this for Zoro he can sound very convincing, if only he wasn't talking to an idiot.

"Yeah, that's great…but I've already decided you're going to be on my crew." _**Aw to hell with this I'm going in.**_

I jumped down and headed to the new pirate and soon-to-be pirate. "What you can't do that"

"You're right he can't." They finally noticed me. Luffy had a confused face on while Zoro sent me a glare.

"If you're going to make him join your crew, you have to manipulate him better than that, he is a feared swordsman." Zoro's glare intensified and Luffy had a 'eureka' moment.

"Oh yeah, you're supposed to be the greatest swordsman in the east blue."

"I am but that idiot Captain's son took mine away." Zoro might hate me for this but its fun messing with him.

"Hey, there's an idea, take his swords and don't give 'em back 'til he joins your crew"

"That's a great idea, thanks pal"

"YOU TWO ARE REALLY PISSING ME OFF."

"Do you want join my pirate crew, too?"

"I'll join after he does" I pointed at Zoro.

"I'M NOT GONNA JOIN!"

Luffy started running away from the base, I wonder if his sense of direction was that bad, or if he was just winding up for a great leap. Zoro seemed to think the former, "hey genius, the base is the other way"

"GUM GUM ROCKET" Luffy zoomed past us toward the base.

"What the hell is this guy?"

"Told you it was an interesting day" he looked at me and back toward where Luffy ran.

"Are you with him?"

"Not yet, first time we actually met really." He stared at me incredulously. "I've been waiting for someone like him to join up with." Well I was waiting for Luffy specifically but he didn't need to know that.

I turned my attention to the base. I could hear a large group of marines on the roof and could make out a large statue being lifted up. Luffy obviously noticed them two as he used his gum gum powers to launch himself up to the roof. I continued to watch as he caused the said statue to break and fall to the ground.

"Well that's not good," I muttered,

"What's not good?" Zoro spoke up, "I heard a crash, what happened?"

"Straw-hat just broke their new statue. They're probably pretty mad right now." I heard footsteps behind me and saw some marines looking our way. "Looks like they spotted us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, me and the kid." I pointed to Coby who was running up to us. He stopped to stare at me for a moment.

"Who are you, another pirate?" He went to work on Zoro's ropes as he talked.

"Not yet, but your friend seems interesting so I'll join him right after this guy does," pointing towards Zoro with my thumb.

"I TOLD YOU I'M NOT JOINING, anyway, kid, that maniac is going to kill you for what you're doing right now,"

"I can't stand the marines behaving like this anymore; the true marines should be honorable." He continued to try and untie Zoro's ropes despite the swordsman's warnings.

"Look kid, I can't leave I got ten days left…" Zoro tried to reason with him but Coby interrupted.

"Well, no, they're going to execute you tomorrow," Zoro's eyes widened in shock, "Helmeppo never intended to honor your agreement."

"It's not surprising a coward like him would go back on his word," I added.

"He planned on killing you from the start, which made Luffy really angry so he just knocked him out."

"He did?" Zoro might just be starting to warm up to the idea of piracy now.

"A guy who would get angry over someone else's troubles is no ordinary pirate." They both paused to stare at me, Coby with understanding, and Zoro with a contemplative look. Coby continued his attempts to fry and his small speech.

"Now the marine are dead set on capturing him. Don't worry, I not going to ask you to become a pirate, but Luffy's the only one who can save you from execution and also you're the only one who can save him from a very similar fate." **What am I chopped liver? I'm right here.**

"I don't think they're the only ones, I'm willing to lend a hand." My sharp ears picked up lots of footsteps heading our way. "Heads up, we got company."

"End of the line," about a dozen marines stood, their guns aimed at us, with Captain Axe-hand Morgan standing behind them. As his nickname suggests, his right hand was replaced by an axe. He also had a metal jaw. "For the crime of treason against me I sentence you three to die where you stand."

While Coby was freaking out, and Zoro, who looked calm but was probably worried, stayed tied up, I was calmly waiting for our resident rubber man to show up and save the day.

"You've been pulling some interesting moves around here. What is this some poorly executed coup you three planned with the Straw-hat?"

"I've always fought alone like a real man does, not like a coward who hides behind a wall of expendable cronies."

I piped up and said, "This is actually the first time we've all met."

"Roronoa Zoro, don't underestimate me, coup or not you're all just rats under my authority. TAKE AIM…"

Despite my foresight of events to come, having a dozen guns pointed at you ready to fire is a little unnerving. My hand itched, wanting to grab the kunai in my pocket and put up a fight.

"AND FIRE!" the marines shot at us but Luffy suddenly came crashing out a window and came flying towards us and took the bullets meant for us.

"Luffy, NO!" "STRAW-HAT!"

Luffy wasn't hurt though, being a rubber man the bullets were bounced back at the marines. One going right by Morgan's head.

"Hahahahaha, that won't work on me, told you I was strong."

"You want tell me just who the hell you are." Zoro snapped after being shocked at Luffy's abilities.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to become King of the Pirates." He had smile on his face as if him becoming King of the Pirates was a natural thing.

"You're going to become King of the Pirates? Are you out of your rubbery mind, do you have any idea what that means?" Zoro obviously didn't think it was a natural thing…well, not yet.

"King of the Pirates means King of the Pirates, how can it mean anything other than that?" The marines stood in shock either by Luffy's devil fruit powers or his claim to become Pirate King, or both.

"Yeah, when he first told me it was shocking but he's completely serious." Coby said with a smile for his friend, awed for his determination to pursue his dream.

"I guess that's how he is, he looks pretty serious, I think I chose the right man to follow," I added as well.

"Yeah, so he's going to obtain the world's ultimate treasure the One Piece." Coby said while Luffy laughed.

"Here's what I promised you, there's three so I couldn't tell which is yours so I brought all of them." Luffy held out the swords that had been previously tied to his back.

"All of them belong to me; I use three-sword style." Zoro said while trying to get free of his bounds.

"Then take them, just so you know if you fight with me you'll be labeled an enemy of the government." Luffy once again held out the three swords to Zoro.

"Hey if you want, you could always not fight and be executed by the marines." I stated knowing which he'll choose.

"What are you two, the sons of the devil? Cause if I don't choose your side I'll just end up dead on these stakes, so let's do this." It was predictable even without foresight, what man would choose death when he has a chance to live.

"Haha, so you're finally going to join my crew that means you'll join too." He said as he turned to me. I nodded. "Two new crew members, this is the best thing ever!"

"Would you just stop celebrating and get these ropes off me?" Zoro snapped. The marines however were starting recover from their shock.

"What is he?"

"Bullets just bounce right off of him?"

"Straw-hat is no ordinary human like the rest of us, he must have eaten one those devil fruits that we've heard all those rumors about." Morgan explained to his underlings.

"Devil fruit?"

"Hidden treasure of the sea!"

"The devil fruits, those who eat them are said to gain extraordinary otherworldly powers," Morgan continued to explain. "Rumors persist that there is many types of these fruits but next to nothing is known about them. It is said the secret to them lie somewhere on the Grand Line. Straw-hat has just shown us his devil power."

While Morgan was talking, Luffy attempted to untie Zoro but was having little success. "Come on hurry" Coby said.

"They got these things one pretty tight." Luffy

"Quit screwing around!" Zoro

"The marines are coming" I added.

"It's doesn't matter what abilities they have, all who oppose me are executed. If the guns don't work then we CHOP!" Morgan shouted and marines drew their swords and charged at us.

"That's funny the ropes just got tighter instead of looser." How can make rope tighter when you're trying to loosen it?

"Give one of my damn swords NOW!"

"Don't worry, I got it." I pulled out two kunai and quickly cut the ropes. Zoro grabbed his swords and intercepted the marines, blocking all of their swords at once. I joined by pulling a handful of kunai in each hand and pointing them at the marines. "Make one move and you die."

"Couldn't you have cut my ropes sooner?" Zoro said through the sword in his mouth.

I shrugged, "It slipped my mind."

"These two are scary."

Zoro looked past me to tell Luffy, "On this day I officially become a criminal having fought the marines, so I'll become a pirate that I can promise you. But I want you to know one thing, while I'm with you the only thing I dedicate myself to is fulfilling **my** ambition."

"Which is?"

"To be nothing less than the world's greatest swordsman. If somewhere along the way I have to give that up I want you take responsibility, after which you both get to 'apologize' to me." Me too? I guess he's sore about me egging Luffy on earlier.

"The world's greatest swordsman, sounds pretty good, the king of the pirates wouldn't have anything less than the best on his crew."

"Big talker, from this point on no matter if I'm a criminal or not I will spread the name Zoro throughout the world."

"What are you standing around for? I want you to kill all four of them." Morgan ordered.

Luffy swung his leg back. "Better duck, you two. Gum-Gum Whip" I instantly obeyed, as did Zoro as Luffy's leg stretched and hit all the marines me and Zoro were holding off.

"Want to tell me what you are?" Zoro

"I'm just the guy who ate the Gum-Gum fruit." Luffy obviously

"What's a Gum-Gum fruit?" Zoro again

"It a devil fruit the make you a rubber man in exchange for losing the ability to swim." I explained

"A devil fruit?" Zoro

The marines were quite intimidated by the three of us. "We can't handle all three of them." "We can't even handle Zoro alone." Morgan however was not pleased with his subordinates' attitudes, "This is a direct order, all the soldiers who just spouted weakness, pull your gun out and shoot yourselves. I can't do anything with weak soldiers!"

"They don't seem too happy with their captain?" I stated

"Hn, what babies, this will be easy." Zoro

Luffy ran ahead toward the marines straight at Captain Morgan. Coby yelled, "Luffy, bring those marines crumbling to their knees." Luffy ran up and threw a punch at Morgan, but the captain blocked with side of his axe-hand.

"Worth-less bums, how dare you defy my superiority?" He threw off his captain's jacket, "I am Marine Captain Axe-hand Morgan!"

"And I'm Luffy, nice to meet cha."

Morgan swiped at Luffy, who jumped over him to avoid be cut in half. Morgan quickly turned around and attacked with a vertical chop, splitting the ground when Luffy dodge to the side. Luffy then rammed both feet into Morgan's face, knocking him back. The metal jaw kept him from being knocked unconscious.

"Look he's been hit!" random marine #1 said (RM1)

"You runt, NOW DIE," Morgan attempted another chop but dodged by a hair and spun in mid air.

"I don't think so," Luffy used the momentum of the spin to deliver an even stronger kick to his opponent.

"The captain's getting pummeled out there." RM2

"It's embarrassing." RM3

"You call yourself a marine, but you destroyed my friend, Coby's dream." He grabbed the downed Marine by the shirt and started punching him in the face.

"STRAWHAT, STOP RIGHT THERE; look at what I got!" Helmeppo had snuck up behind us and was holding Coby at gun point. Luffy, however didn't seem to hear him. "Are you stupid, I said 'stop'? If you paid attention to me, I have a hostage here you might want to look at!"

"Helmeppo's crazy." RM2

"Hey," Zoro was able to get Luffy's attention.

"If you value your scrawny little friend's life, you won't move a muscle! I'm serious, one move and I'll shoot, I swear!" Despite his claims, Helmeppo was shaking. He's probably never had to shoot anyone before.

I turned to Luffy, "What should we do, _captain_?" Luffy stared at Coby who looked really scared. However, when Luffy smiled, Coby's fear seemed to vanish.

"Luffy, listen, don't let anything that happens stop you, even if I die." Big words for little kid like him. Luffy obviously made a big impact on him.

"Of course, got it," Luffy replied, "You here that you big idiot, Coby is ready to die by your hand." Luffy started walking towards them with his right hand raised up in a fist.

"Don't you move, I said don't move or I'll shoot I swear it,"

Morgan got up at that point, and prepared to cut Luffy down. Luffy, however, prepared to take out Helmeppo leaving Zoro and I to take out Morgan before he kills our new captain.

"Times up, for I am fearless marine Captain Axe-hand Morgan!"

"Daddy, kill him now!"

"Gum-Gum Pistol"

Luffy punched out Helmeppo, thus saving Coby, while Zoro with his three swords and me with two kunai, cut down Morgan, thus saving Luffy.

"Nice one," Luffy praised as Morgan fell to the ground unconscious, "thank you."

"We just doing our job, captain." Zoro replied.

"Captain Morgan's been beaten!"

"Unbelievable, those guys are unreal!"

"If there's anyone who still wants to fight, step forward now," Zoro stated. However the marines threw away their weapons and cheered.

"That's weird, looks like they're all happy that their captain was beaten." Luffy

"They must have been afraid of him for a long time before we showed up." Coby

Zoro suddenly fell backward onto the ground. Now that the fighting was over, his hunger finally got to him.

"Zoro are you ok, what happened?" Coby

"He's just hungry," I said. I pulled an energy bar from the pouch on my waist and offered it to him. "Here's something to tide you over till we get to a restaurant."

"Thanks." Zoro

"We're crewmates now," I said as I helped him up, "We got to look out for each other to survive the high seas."

"Oh yeah, I never caught you name." Zoro

"Yeah, what is your name?" Luffy

"You mean you recruited him into your crew without even knowing his name?" Zoro

"We were pretty busy, my name's Talos."

"Zoro"

"And I'm Luffy"

"My name's Coby, I'm not a part of the crew but Luffy and I are friends." I smiled and headed out of the Marine base.

We went back to the restaurant I ate at with Nami. The bartender, Ririka was so grateful for us defeating the evil marine captain that she cooked up a big meal. I know before I thought I could eat as much a Luffy, but he has me beat.

"Ah, that was great; having not eaten for three weeks was getting to me. I was ready to gnaw through my bootstraps." Everyone chuckled at Zoro's light humor.

"I can't believe you're already finished, you're such a lightweight." Luffy said with a full mouth.

"How the hell can you have a bigger appetite than a guy who hasn't eaten in weeks?" Zoro

"His rubber stomach must take a lot to fill." I commented

"Your one to talk, you ate almost as much as he does." Zoro

"It just tasted good, I guess, right Coby" Luffy was still talking and eating at the same time.

"Yeah it's great, thanks for fixing it for us." Coby

"My pleasure, after all you guys did save the town." Ririka

Ririka's daughter Rika was amazed at Luffy. "You're the most amazing man I ever met."

"Yeah, I know, I'll be more amazing when I'm king of the pirates and have the one piece, oh and the best crew on the seas." Luffy

"So how many others have you recruited besides me and him?" Zoro gestured towards me. "You told me you were in the middle of gathering together a crew for your ship. If you're going to be king of the pirates, I got to assume you have some waiting in the wings."

"Nope, just you two." Luffy stated. Zoro was obviously surprised.

"Just…?" He pointed at Luffy, himself and me.

"Yep, it's just us." Luffy was still eating at this point.

"So the three of us are what amounts to an entire pirate crew?" Zoro

"What's wrong with that? We're a couple of strong guys." Luffy

"Ok, but please tell me you have a ship?" Zoro

"Sure do, it's right there." Luffy pointed out the window to the docks where a dog was marking the only boat visible from this angle.

"My boat is bigger." I said as I stood at the window.

"You're kidding?" Zoro said next to me.

"Nope, but we'll have an enormous one before long, just you wait and see." Luffy

Zoro laughed, "Hahaha, and how's that?"

However, Luffy ignored him and continued to fantasize about the ship he'll get. "…with a great big pirate flag on top." He took another bite of food. "I can't wait!"

"I think Luffy was born without the part of the brain that allows the rest of us to plan ahead." Coby

"I can't believe I let myself get suckered into having him as my captain." Zoro

"At least it'll make for an interesting voyage," I said, already knowing what kind of mishaps Luffy will drag us into.

"And you're the one who helped him!" Zoro snapped

"Hey we'll have a bunch more crew in no time." Luffy

Rika decided to speak up. "Luffy, where are you and your crew planning on sailing to when you leave here?"

"You mean it's not obvious? We're headed straight for the Grand Line." Luffy

Coby spit out his juice in surprise, "No, you must be out of your mind. You only have three crew members; there's no way you're equipped to handle the Grand Line."

"I heard rumors about it, but I never knew it was such an awful place." Rika

"It's worse than you think." Coby began to go into an explanation of the world's oceans, "You know that this world has two oceans, I'm sure. There is an enormous land mass that cuts across both of them, this is the Red Line. Legends tell of a town that sets dead center of the Red Line. The Grand Line is said to cut through this town at a right angle and stretch all the way around the world. The story goes to say that Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates, had once obtained everything this world had to offer. Before he died, he said he left the great treasure One Piece at this location. Ever since then, pirates have set sail for the Grand Line and today that place is nothing but a battle field. Some even call it the pirate's grave yard."

I spoke up to offer a little bit more insight, "We always fear what we don't understand. The stories I've heard say the Grand Line is filled with things beyond the imagination. For those who can't adapt, it is a graveyard, but for those who can, they say those people call it a paradise."

"Still, I've heard stories from people passing through. Customers say no one who enters the Grand Line ever comes out alive." Ririka

"Which is really too bad, because that's where the One Piece is said to be and that's exactly where we're going," Luffy said, his resolve not wavering a bit, "Besides, like Talos said, if we can handle the Grand Line, it'll be a paradise."

"I guess we have to live with it, besides I think we can handle it," Zoro agreed.

"No, you can't agree!" Coby

"What do you care, you're not going with us." Zoro

"Besides, I collected all the stories I've heard and read, even the unbelievable ones." I said to the worrying Coby. "We'll have a lot of info to help us."

"I still worry, is it so wrong to care about the three of you?" Coby said. "Luffy and I haven't known each other for years or anything but I still consider him a friend, wouldn't you say?" He turned to said friend.

"Of course, we may have to part ways, but we'll always be friends," Luffy seems to have the ability to make friends wherever he goes. I think that ability will be even more helpful than his Gum-Gum powers.

"I never had any friends when I was little, much less someone who would fight on my behalf." Coby said, "That's way I never fought for anything."

We all looked at the young kid as he poured his heart out. His melancholy face then changed to one of determination. "But you three have taught me something I could never learn on my own. That's why I've decided to pursue my childhood dream; I'm going to join the marines."

"Then don't you think you should be a little more concerned with your situation?" Zoro said. "I mean you did spend two years on Alvida's ship, even if you were just a cabin boy. The Marine's information gathering is top notch, they're going to find out about your time with Alvida, you'll never join."

"Way to encourage the guy, Zoro." I said

"I'm just being realistic." Zoro

"I never thought of that" Coby

Just then the Marines walked through the door, led by the man I assume took command after we beat Morgan.

"Hey you there, we heard you guys are actually pirates is this rumor true?" the marine lieutenant asked.

"Right, and I just added the first two crew members to my crew," Luffy said honestly, "so pretty much the whole thing just became official"

"We appreciate everything you did to save our town from that horrible tyrant, who terrorized us for so long," Yeah I see they are grateful but I sense a catch. "however, now that we know you are pirates we can't sit idly by and let you go about your business ," I knew it, "therefore you and your crew will need to leave this town immediately, but out of respect for what you've done we will not report you to headquarters."

The townsfolk became upset at this and were telling the marines off, but I felt they weren't wrong. They had their justice to stand by and they were lenient enough to give a break and allow us to leave peacefully.

"Well, time to go, thanks for all of the food lady," Luffy spoke ignoring the protesting people. He knew that he was a criminal, or soon will be, and the position the marines were in.

Rika spoke up, "Hey wait a second, you're leaving already."

Luffy replied with a simple "yeah". Me and Zoro got up with Luffy and started heading for the door. Coby was left standing unsure of what to do now.

The marine lieutenant noticed this and spoke to him, "aren't you part of the crew as well?"

Coby began stuttering, trying to answer him. Luffy stopped momentarily but began to leave again until…

"Hold it," Marine lieutenant ordered, "Is he with you or what?"

"What I can tell you is what he's been busy doing up to this point," Luffy was about to reveal Coby's time with pirates. Zoro and I kept impassive faces while Luffy began to tell about Alvida and went up to Coby and began to tell them of his time and her cabin boy when Coby hit Luffy.

"Now that was a dumb move," Luffy then began punching Coby, but I could tell he was holding back a lot.

"You get out of here, we can't have you pirates ripping up this town more than you already have," the marine attempted to break up the fight.

I stepped up and grabbed Luffy's shoulder, "Enough, you made your point."

Zoro did the same and we pulled Luffy back, "Yeah, now let him fall to the ground." Coby fell panting while to the Marine yelled at us again.

"It's clear you're not crewmates so stop badgering the poor kid and leave the town this instant."

As we were heading out, I passed by the Lieutenant and whispered so only he could hear, "Thanks for playing along, take good care of him." His face remained impassive but I knew he would do it.

"That was a fine act you put on back there," Zoro said sarcastically. "I wouldn't be surprised if they saw right through it,"

"The lieutenant did, but he's a nice guy so Coby will be fine." I said

"Talos is right, Coby should be able to handle the rest on his own; I have faith in him." Luffy said happily.

"It is a fitting way to leave this place, unable to come back cause everyone hates us now," Zoro contemplated, "very pirate-like."

"Yeah it sure is," Luffy was enjoying the pirate way of life, even the being hated part. He started to get in his boat.

"Yo Luffy, we're taking my boat. It's bigger and has all my stuff in it," I pointed to my boat which was big enough to have a small cabin.

"Ok"

"Luffy!" Coby appeared behind us with Rika and Rurika. He saluted us and… "I can never thank you enough, you've done more for me than anyone ever had."

"I've never heard of a marine thanking a pirate before, that's one for the history books." Zoro commented.

"It's a first for me, but I think with Luffy as our captain we'll see a lot of unusual stuff." I added.

We all said goodbye as we got on my boat and set sail. The Marines showed up and gave us a salute as a sendoff.

"We're finally setting sail" Luffy proclaimed

"I've a feeling some interesting adventures lay ahead of us." Zoro

"Should be fun," I added.

"I'll be King of the Pirates, I know it." Luffy said

"You seem more than a little obsessed with this King of the Pirates thing, is there a reason?" Zoro asked.

"No reason, it's just I promised someone, a while back, that I'd gather a crew, find the greatest treasure in the world and become King of the Pirates," Luffy said with a sentimental voice, "and this straw hat knows the whole story."

"Sounds like an interesting tale," I commented.

"Now, let's go!" Luffy shouted, "It's time to set our heading for the Grand Line!"


End file.
